Solas
Solas is yet another early option for companions in Dragon Age: Inquisition. So early, in fact, that you have no choice but to use him in the first few hours of the game. The fact that he is sort of forced upon you in the beginning does absolutely nothing to diminish this intriguing character in the slightest, though. He is an oddity that you just can’t help but keep around.
Solas is an elven mage who is neither dalish nor of the city. He spent most of his years alone, focusing on refining his magical abilities without the help of teachers or a circle. Although he spent most of his time away from his people, he is still very proud of his lineage and everything that it encompasses. The fact that he is an apostate mage does not stop him from seeking understanding and learning more about the threat to Thedas. This lends to the core of his character and his natural need to chase after knowledge and understanding.
If Cassandra is there to renew your faith, then Solas is there to help you understand it. He has put himself in the center of hostile territory in order to learn and to help and he is often a solid voice of reason when trouble arises. He is not without his biases but he is the innate ability to view situations from both sides, something that is extremely rare among the other companions in Dragon Age: Inquisition. He seeks to return the world to peace and order and to do away with ongoing disputes between races, classes, and nations.
The fact that he is pretty handy when it comes to ranged combat is worth mentioning. He is an excellent ice mage, maybe not the best, but have him focus on spirit and ice magic and you have a handy defensive mage who can stop enemies in their tracks. He can also sense elven artifacts that help to strengthen the veil, which makes him very useful in pushing back the threat.
